


Flickering Rose

by Asher_Magphai



Category: RWBY
Genre: Disguise, Fate & Destiny, Nonbinary Character, Other, Platonic Soulmates, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Thieves Guild, Unrequited Crush
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-02
Updated: 2019-07-02
Packaged: 2020-06-02 15:39:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 11,547
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19444441
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Asher_Magphai/pseuds/Asher_Magphai
Summary: Soul markings had never really been a problem for Roman, even with the black rose surrounded by the black outline of flames on his neck. It was the 'destiny Mark' surrounding it that he had a problem with, shattered glass that marked him as a thief before he even knew what one was.Ruby hated that her mother had refused to accept her place as a thief, pretending to be without a destiny mark with make-up (and her daughter's)...it had worked until she died, but since Ruby has been having to cover it herself. They hate this, being a huntress, being anything but 'Red'...so they have to figure out how to make everything right without being 'preemptively' thrown in jail.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I've been trying to get back into writing again for a while, with no real worthwhile results. But I heard 'One Thing' from the new RWBY album yesterday and remembered this old piece and decided to start putting this out while I get the creative juices going and such. 
> 
> I'm a huge fan of Rosewick, either platonic or romantic when she's older. They could learn so much from each other, and be a good foil. 
> 
> I'm a fan of soulmate marks too, so this idea came from the idea that not only are their soulmates shown by marks, but your very DESTINY. I'll elaborate more about this version of Remnant as time goes on, chapter by chapter. It won't be very long, and very little from the actual show will get in (except times Ruby and Roman meet), but it should be fun regardless.
> 
> Ruby being non-binary came from the idea that Red was her 'real' name, which is why they thought Roman knew about the Thieves Dens. A different Ruby from the one we know, but at the same time surprisingly similar in some ways.

Soul markings had never really been a problem for Roman, even with the black rose surrounded by the black outline of flames on his neck. It was the 'destiny Mark' surrounding it that he had a problem with, shattered glass that marked him as a thief before he even knew what one was. No one had given him a chance to be anything else once it appeared when he was still young, and even if he enjoyed what he did now that didn't stop his wish that he could have at least tried to be a 'better person'.

If there was one thing Roman hadn't expected in life it was to keep running into a certain huntress-in-training after their first meeting, even if he was always undercover...he had never been enough of a fool to walk around Vale without a disguise when he wasn't on a heist, the irritating yellow wig and blue contact lenses usually did their job, so long as he changed his clothes to a little less high class. He knew the first time they met with him in disguise, simply walking by one another, that she recognized him somehow...her eyes had widened, and she stopped to stare. All he had been able to do was keep walking, hoping...he heard the blonde who had been beside her call out a word ("Ruby?") and she ran after the older. He'd been careful getting home that day, forgetting what he had even been out for, but watching the news in annoying fear revealed no headway on his case or description of the fake version...the thief shook free the assumption she had recognized him and returned to his life.

Second and third time were coincidences too, he was sure, though her eyes lingered on him each time. By the fourth it had been two weeks since the first, yet he walked by her three more times on that Saturday. The seventh was Tuesday, then Friday for the eighth. By the ninth time he was more than irritated, pulling her aside as soon as he saw her despite it being early Saturday afternoon.

"What are you doing?" The pale man hissed once he had pulled her into a small alleyway. He pulled back a bit when she laughed.

"About time you noticed." The girl grinned at him, his body tensing to prepare for some attack. "This isn't the place though, come on." How she could dart forward and pull him off his feet with no trouble he had no clue, though far more concerning was how she jumped onto the roof of the five story building and across rooftops like it was normal.

  
Roman had planned on demanding answers from the girl, but found himself falling silent as they entered an old warehouse once she finally brought them to ground level again...they went to a small space near the back, mostly hidden by heaters or something, and she pushed a tiny section of the wall. Concern that she was crazy faded when the section flipped to reveal a small red scanner, her scroll (that didn't look like a Beacon-grade scroll...) was pressed to it...the floor in front of them opened to reveal a staircase, long but well lit. He had no idea why he followed her down, but he did anyway. Seconds after he was far enough down the entrance slid shut again, and they walked in silence until they reached a stone wall. Another push against a small part of the wall beside the huntress-in-training, another tap of the scroll against the sensor that flipped out, and the wall moved open.

"Nuby!" A little girl cheered the moment they stepped inside, likely not much older than a toddler, bouncing on her toes with arms raised like she wanted a hug...she was so young she couldn't even say the name right. The only way he could think of to describe her was homeless, torn brown clothing and matted midnight blue hair. The walls were unpainted grey metal and bare, a simple wooden table and ragged couches in the room.

"Ah, ah!" Red let out a noise best attributed to an older sibling, causing the child to stop and pout. "You know not to call me that. And I have a guest." She gestured to him, causing a curious look from the little one...a nod was given anyway. "Follow me." Not like the thief had a choice at this point, the wall had closed behind them so he was definitely stuck. They passed through a few rooms with beat up couches, chairs and tables (one looked like a kitchen since it had a fridge and dining table) before climbing a set of stairs. She went into the room on the left, closest to the stairs despite there being another five on each side going down the hallway, and after a moment he entered it too. He froze when he saw the plush looking bed, small sidetable nearby...it only made it worse when she dropped that red cape with a relieved sigh.

"..."

"Sorry about that, I haven't had the chance to come back for a while thanks to Beacon... it's a real hassle getting away from everyone long enough to get here." She kicked off the boots, plopping onto the bed.

"...What the hell is going on Red?!" Silver eyes blinked, pausing.

"You...don't know?"

"If I knew I wouldn't be asking!" The shock wore off after a few moments, only for her to laugh again.

"I thought you knew 'cause you called me Red." The redhead explained. "Junior's gonna throw a fit." Now THAT was definitely not a name a pure little huntress-to-be should know.

"Junior?" The usually orange haired man questioned, getting a nod.

"You'd probably know him better as Hei Xiong. You bought some lackies off of him, which I beat up...man did I get a lecture for that one." She had sighed at the pause, though the whole thing only confused him more. "I don't know what he EXPECTED me to do when they were robbing a dust shop with the cashier as a witness, but apparently playing my part wasn't it." He'd really appreciate it if this girl started making some damn sense.

"Your 'part'?" The silver eyed girl gave a hum and shrugged.

"If you'd just knocked out the cashier it wouldn't have been an issue, but I have an appearance I need to keep up." She groaned a little, unclasping her belt and tossing it onto the floor with no care. "Instead I have to beat his men, act like some fangirl and end up getting dragged into Beacon! All my plans got messed up and now I have to think of something new; and since you're the one who caused this you're helping me!" The green eyed man may have played along up until now, but he was sick of it.

"And why would I do that?" Having 'caused it' wasn't a good enough, his narrow eyes showed that. The redhead swiped her thumb under her collar, on the left side of her neck, before pulling the previously unnoticed zipper down. He panicked for a moment as she stopped the zipper just passed her collar bone, pulling it down to reveal a mark so familiar it made his heart stop...it was one he had seen almost every day of his life, shattered glass destiny mark and all. "... You're...my...?"

"Sorry if it disappoints you Mister Master Thief." The ginger had never expected the teenager to sound so condescending, her own eyes slightly narrowed in annoyance. "Now that I have a team of wannabe-huntresses almost constantly watching me my old plans to fake my death are null and void. So, you'll have to figure something out for me." He was still trying to fully comprehend finally finding his soulmate when she stood and stretched, walking over to a small door. "Stay here, will you?" A nod was the only answer he could give, but it must have been enough since she opened the door and walked inside.

 _My soulmate is...a thief kid? Pretending to be a huntress?!_ The idea was absurd, but the 'master thief' had seen it with his own eyes. There was russling from beyond the door, a jolt went through him when a curious glance revealed the pale skin of her back and clothing hanging up...it was a small walk-in closet.

"Could you open the door for me?" The voice came from inside the closet, his body opened the door to the hallway before he even had a chance to think about it. "Neo! You got me what I asked for yet?" The girl's voice was suddenly loud, echoing through the room, when a sound like shattered glass came from beside him.

"...?" There was a person behind him now, had to be a woman considering her... development. Hair was dark brown and pale pink, streaks of white on one side...her eyes were the same, though the brown and pink were swapped sides from her hair. She wore a far oversized sweater hanging from one shoulder and billowing shorts that reached her knees (he was willing to bet those were only kept up by a belt or something hidden by the shirt). With head tilted to the side in an almost childish show of curiosity and with how tiny she was he'd almost mistaken her for a little girl before noticing his mistake.

"Yes Neo." Roman's mind was too frazzled to keep his guard up at the moment. "There is a reason I brought him, you can ask him yourself in a minute. I'd like what I asked for first." The woman, Neo, smiled widely before practically skipping into the closet. "Dust, you are a lifesaver!" It was the first time he'd heard the voice happy, and he found it wasn't as high pitched as he'd been expecting. The girl with multi coloured hair skipped back out of the closet before plopping onto the bed much like the room's keeper.

"?" She tilted her head upon looking at him again, as if hoping it would convey whatever question was in her mind.

"That wig and contacts must be irritating, you can take them off if you want. It's a Thief's Den, no one here will rat you out." Green eyes not so green blinked, having forgotten he even had them on with everything going on. A careful tug at the wig revealed his real hair, and mismatched eyes widened considerably before snapping back to the closet like she wanted an explanation. "Yep, Roman Torchwick in the flesh. Guess Junior never told him about this place." Her lips pulled into a frown. "Don't give me that look, I already know I'm gonna be lectured again." The orange haired man hadn't remembered seeing a mirror in the closet, but she responded like there was...standing here with her friend was starting to get awkward.

"Hey Red, you-" A sleeveless jumpsuit that became shorts reaching only her mid thigh the colour of blood was the first thing he noticed when she finally walked out, trimmed in gold with a section of fabric added to trail down each side to the short bottoms and at the back. Pitch black tights, covered by gold boots almost reaching the knee covered her legs...gloves of the same design went to almost her elbows. Two gold metal belts hung from the waist in a cross, a crimson buckle all that kept them together. A simple crimson masquerade mask covered little more than the eyes, leaving only two slits for each much like a White Fang mask, a gold shattered effect added to each side near the temple. Her hair was bright red now despite him knowing it was usually mostly black, messed up but tied in a small ponytail at the base of her neck, and any development she had seemed to have disappeared.

"You're a real lifesaver Neo!" The grin had a hint of malice the thief wouldn't have imagined possible for the 15 year old.

"Red!" Looking at the door revealed another four kids, plus the one he had seen earlier.

"H-whoa!" The children swarmed her happily, hugging any part they could reach. "Hey, hey!" The fake huntress had that older sister tone again, but it had no effect with her laughing...it was a nice sound, he wouldn't deny. Blue covered eyes snapped to the side when he heard the shattered glass again, finding the woman he'd only just met now standing while pouting with narrow eyes and stomped her foot.

"Neopolitan is right, Red only just got home." The one who said it was the oldest looking, a boy with almost shaggy black hair. The term 'home' sounded odd when used for the girl, but she was still grinning happily. "They're probably exhausted, we shouldn't be bothering them." He added, only confusing the man with the use of 'them' and 'they' for the girl...did it mean both girls in the room before?

"Let's eat!" The little girl from earlier cheered, turning on her heel and running.

"Aurora! Wait up!" One of the other children called out, the rest running after her.

"Sorry about that, it's been a real long time to them." Red gave an embarrassed laugh.

"This place is apparently your home." Roman pointed out.

"More than anywhere else I've been."

"So...any reason those kids didn't call you a girl?" The masked teenager's body went stiff, beginning to shake after a moment. It took him a second to realize there was muttering, getting closer to hear.

"Dressing like a guy'll make things harder for you Kiddo." "If you just wore more feminine clothing like Yang you'd look just as pretty Ruby." "You should wear a skirt like Mom did Sis." "My baby sister's finally growing up, chest finally growing out. ...Huh? It's a part of being a girl Ruby, no need to cry." They were all simple enough, but the last part made it far more apparent why it was a problem...his soulmate didn't want to be a girl. It was an odd thought, how he had went from almost despising the silver eyed youth to the horrible pain in his chest from the simple knowledge of the marks on their neck.

"Red?" The well dressed man spoke the name softly and placed a hand on their shoulder, watching them flinch away almost as if struck...he frowned.

"I...I don't wanna be a boy or a girl. I just...wanna be me, ok? Just Red." He could only stare as tears trickled down their face from under the mask.

"...Whatever you want Red." The words took too long to leave the master thief's mouth, but the non-gender gave a grateful smile nonetheless. The simply dressed woman walked over, hugging her friend despite being shorter than even them. "Lifesaver." He agreed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here's the first chapter of Flickering Rose, hope you all enjoyed! Less innocent bean Ruby is fun to write.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Red's thief's den is more than it seems, and Roman stands aside curiously as big plans are made.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter feels more dialogue heavy but maybe it's just me...

Red didn't seem at all surprised when the trio had finally made it down to breakfast only to find Junior, arms crossed and scowling, standing in the kitchen and dining area. In fact, their only response was to do the exact same thing back to the man.

"You can't just bring him here Red." Junior growled, glaring at Roman. The young redhead moved to stand between them.

"Roman's one of the best in the business, if anyone deserves access to the Thieves' Dens it's him." Red disagreed, despite the mask covering their eyes and around it was still clear they were glaring.

"He made you beat up my men!" The black haired man almost yelled.

"I only did that because the cashier was still conscious!" The teenager snarled back.

"Because he didn't tell them to knock him out!"

"Because they're too _stupid_ to do it without an order!" In their room earlier they had made it clear the situation had been his fault, yet here they defended him...was this supposed to be the 'lecture' they had mentioned? Because this looked far closer to becoming a full out fight than any kind of lecture.

"Red..." The club owner warned, but the non-binary didn't bow down. Instead they stood tall, proud and almost smug.

"Face it Junior. You may _pay_ for these dens, but _I'm_ the one in charge. You've said so yourself, so let me run things my way." There was a malicious edge to their voice that didn't go unnoticed.

"Being your soulmate doesn't give him special privileges." In the corner of Roman's eye he saw the children and Neo all stop to stare at him with wide eyes and varying expressions.

"That had nothing to do with this." The crimson teenager disagreed with a huff. "Like I said, he's one of the best. Who better to teach them?" Both adults laughed, one startled and the other genuinely finding the idea funny.

"He won't agree to teach a bunch of kids." The brown eyed man pointed out, as though he'd won.

"Maybe not, but he _can_ teach Neo. One apprentice, who can teach them all." He narrowed his eyes again.

"You think _Neopolitan_ has what it takes to become a master thief? She's Markless!" The butt end of a golden spear slammed into his chest, causing the information broker to fall to the ground since he hadn't been prepared...and the tip of the spear to be pressed against his chest.

" _Never_ speak down to my people." Red warned, low and dangerous in a way the actual master thief had yet to hear. "Neo is my right hand Junior. And she's already far better than you in combat. I think you should leave before this 'talk' goes any more out of your control." The goateed man huffed, but got up and left regardless. After a moment of silence the fake huntress-to-be took a deep breath, their soulmate watched in amazement as the spear collapsed and became the belts the thief had been wearing. "You okay Neo?" The apparently Markless woman was the one shaking now, she tried to nod but it convinced no one.

"Manks don't mean evenyfin' Neo!" The smallest child, Aurora, assured happily.

"That's right. Red is able to act like a huntress despite being a destined thief." The oldest boy agreed.

"Being Markless just means you get to choose what life you want, and can be good at anything you want." Red smiled, soft and kind, hugging their friend. The woman clung back but nothing else, the leader not attempting to pull away until allowed. "Feeling better?" The heterochromic woman nodded when the two finally pulled apart, wiping at her eyes a little. "Then let's focus on something to eat."

"For the guy who pays for this place you sure don't seem to get along well with him." Roman pointed out as the masked teenager began grabbing food for themself.

"Junior and I met when I was seven...to be honest we haven't really gotten along in years. Yang busting up his club and me beating his men was pretty much the final straw." They explained, taking a bite from some baked good someone had left for them.

"Yang?"

"My half sister, on my dad's side. He acts like I tipped her off to go talk to him or something. I don't know how she found out, but it's not my fault she's so quick to fight." They sighed, taking another bite as he looked around at the children.

"...Are your friends going to be okay, with him mad like that?" He could be cruel, sure, but he wasn't heartless...these were his people, a bunch of thieves.

"It's not like he'll hurt them or anything, and no matter how pissed off he gets he'll keep these places running so there's nothing to really worry about." The orange haired man frowned.

"How can you be sure?" To his surprise they grinned.

"Junior's infamous 'information network'? You're looking at it." Blue covered green eyed widened drastically. "You'd be amazed how much adults will say if just a kid they don't think will understand is nearby, as long as their thief mark isn't seen. There are dens all over the big cities. For more undercover information gathering or getting things from out of town dens I have Neo." Their 'right hand' grinned proudly.

"That's... brilliant." It gave the thief children, likely thrown out by their family once their destiny mark appeared, a place to stay and something to keep them busy. "They still steal?" Roman asked, getting a huff from his soulmate.

"Of _course_." Red responded, he was sure they were rolling their eyes. "Mostly small stuff, when I'm not around. A lien card here and there, some candy...simple stuff. But when I _am_ around..." That vicious grin returned. "Speaking of, Neo, you got anything?" Almost in unison the children lifted their plates and bowls from the table, just in time for the woman with multicoloured hair to slam a large roll of paper down.

"Heist! Heist! Heist!" It was somewhat disorienting to watch a bunch of children cheer for a heist, thieves or not...the oldest couldn't be more than eleven, not counting the leader and right hand, while the youngest was maybe three or four.

"Calm down, calm down!" The non-binary was laughing again as they tried to get the children to stop cheering, eventually seeming to give up and unroll the paper. To the master thief's surprise it was a hand drawn map, specifically of a small jewelry shop. It was actually a pretty high end one of he remembered right, a lot of security and definitely some things that would sell well on the black market.

"You use hand drawn things?" The orange haired man questioned, watching his soulmate nod.

"Harder to track than hacking with a scroll. And we can just burn it later or throw it in the water, then it's unreadable." They explained, even though their head wasn't moving he knew they were scanning the map. "Neo, we're taking out security." The woman clapped happily. "Charcoal, Salsa. You two are with Aurora, warn if anyone enters." The three children cheered and he couldn't understand why the youngest was even being brought, surely they were more a risk than an asset. "That means you have to have your hair brushed Aurora."

"Noooooooo!" Aurora seemed to let out an exceptionally unsettling sound, like some horribly filtered chirp.

"Aurora, stop hissing." That was a hiss?! In what kind of messed up world was that a _hiss_?! "You either get your hair brushed or you don't come." The child stopped making that noise, pouting and crossing her arms. A shatter sound happened suddenly, drawing their attention to Neo...who was glaring down at the child, her own arms crossed.

"...K..." The child didn't stop pouting, but at least seemed to have realized she had no hope to win this argument.

"I'll brush her hair." A girl with long curled red hair and green streaks stated, holding up a brush...she was taller than everyone, so was probably second oldest.

"Thank you Salsa." The silver eyed girl thanked. "Charcoal, you'll be here." They pointed to the back door.

"Got it Red!" The shaggy black haired boy assured.

"Salsa, you're here. Aurora will be here." The red haired girl was just inside the door but out of sight, while weird 'hissing' kid was outside nearby. "Jasper, Blizzard. You two are taking the jewels, understood?"

"Yep!" A boy with white hair that faded to blue grinned widely.

"Can do." A boy with brown hair nodded.

"Good. We head out at dawn."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Red isn't bad, and probably wouldn't have actually hurt Junior...still, he's easy enough to intimate and no one insults a member of Red's group.  
> Teams don't have colour names, but they go as followed for the heist.  
> RN (RuN)  
> CSA (SACk)  
> JB (...I have no idea on this one, sorry)


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Setting up for the heist might take a bit more planning than Roman expected Red to think of. This little girl...could he be wrong about her kind?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For if you haven't figured it out, Aurora uses 'N' instead of 'R' and 'F' instead of 'Th'. Since she's a toddler and doesn't speak properly and all.

Roman watched in silent astonishment as his soulmate spent the next few hours going into detail of a team's job with that team, giving some basic advice for if something went wrong. He was used to giving orders in a large group, but they explained that this method kept the team's mind on their own task instead of subconsciously trying to remember everyone else's as well. The basic advice turned to far more heavy planning for any scenarios that had a decent chance of happening to ruin the heist once it was just them and the Markless.

"Contingency plans. The more likely stuff that could go wrong should have a plan of what to do if it does." Red stated, their right hand nodding in agreement.

"Pretty smart for a 15 year old." Roman joked, certain they rolled their eyes behind that mask.

"I _was_ put in charge of a huntress-in-training team. Compared to that heists are a breeze." There was a note of exhaustion in their voice he hadn't expected.

"Red?" The adult questioned softly, watching as the teenager's shoulders sagged.

"...Sorry." They murmured, fiddling with their fingers nervously. "It's just...Grimm are harder to deal with. There's no plan, just a want to destroy...not to mention at least these guys all respect me. Trying to get Weiss to get along with _anyone_ can be harder than fighting that giant Nevermore and..." The masked teenager had begun to tremble again, though stopped when the woman with multicoloured hair placed a hand on their shoulder and tilted her head. "No Neo, you cannot kill Weiss." She pouted, but it seemed to have brought the leader's mood up again regardless. "I just want the spend my time here instead."

"That makes sense. If being around your so-called team doesn't make you happy of course you'd want to be around the people who do." The man with covered green eyes pointed out, getting a slight smile.

"It's nice to have you understand that." The redhead admitted, taking a deep breath before looking down at the map again. "These are all the cameras?" What he'd come to understand was their best friend nodded. Said best friend rather suddenly pointed to him, tilting her head again.

"What?" The silver eyed teenager looked up, seeing what was happening.

"I don't know if Roman is coming." It was actually rather nice, the familiar way they said his name. "I wasn't planning around it, didn't want to force him. Besides, we don't want him being related to our heists. Even if he has another weapon on him." He blinked, startled and confused.

"How did you know I had another weapon?" The orange haired man asked curiously.

"You'd be stupid not to, given that all of Vale is looking for you. A small, easy to conceal weapon easily within reach rather than your signature cane... I'm guessing it's in the sleeve of your jacket. Something that can act as a grappling hook, so I'd say a small sickle that collapses it's blade and the base holds a bunch of chain around a bullet chamber." His eyes widened.

"That's...exactly right." Roman flicked his wrist, showing them the simple weapon. They gave a wide, proud grin.

"Of course it is." Attention was returned to the hand drawn map as he pushed the weapon back into his sleeve. "As for why we don't want you related to our heists, it's because your dust thefts will draw attention away from things like jewelry stores, meaning police will take longer to respond." They cut him off before he even had the chance to open his mouth. "This isn't your usual style, hiring useless men and all...so I assume you've made a deal with someone for a big plan, meaning you'll definitely need a lot more dust than what you've gotten up until now."

"..." This kid's observation skills and such would _honestly_ be terrifying if they were actually on the other side.

"You have Sundae ready?" Another shatter of glass sound, he got to see it do so this time as an umbrella appeared in the heterochromic woman's right hand. "The others still in good shape?" She used her fingers to make fake antenna atop her head, then spun some hair around one finger and tapped all her fingers against nothing in the air as she brought them down. "Hissing Bug, Tortilla Chip and Snowfall need to be fixed up. Got it."

"How?!" The non-binary looked up at their soulmate again. "I get the first one but the others make no sense!" They chuckled softly.

"This means Salsa, since she has curly hair." They spun some hair around their finger. "And this is snow falling, so Blizzard." Wait, if the motions had been referring to the _owners_ then who-

"I wanna coven!" The whine brought his eyes to Aurora, only to freeze now that her deep blue hair was brushed...and a pair of thick black antenna came from atop the little girl's head.

"Your antenna are a part of you Aurora. They help you pick up sounds we humans could never hope to. Try not to be so upset about them, we don't see you any differently as a faunus." Red spoke gently, kindly, setting a hand ever so carefully on the toddler's head between her antenna. They kept one of these... _animals_ among their group?

"Ofers do..." The faunus child muttered, looking down.

"And they think we thieves are heartless, or that Markless can't be anything in life. People are closed minded and wrong. But we have each other, and that's what matters. Okay?" They knelt down so they were eye level, even taking off their mask...black eyes stared kindly at the little one, not the silver he had been expecting.

"...Okay Ned." She gave a gentle smile. "Imma get Hissin'!" With that the little girl turned, running off at full speed.

"I'll get Tortilla Chip and Snowfall." Salsa smiled at their leader, putting the brush she held back wherever it had been before turning on her heel and leaving as well. He couldn't understand how the whole group could just treat a _faunus_ like anyone else...but the way the crimson wearer had explained it...it had to be because they were his soulmate, that it was making him question beliefs he had his whole life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Red is clearly better at realizing the big picture than canon Ruby and is more competent with things more related to their thief destiny, so realizing Roman was acting out of character for him and must be working with someone else was easy for them. And as we saw in the last chapter, being soulmates effect people in a lot of quick ways. Roman went from basically hating Ruby to worrying about Red, here it has him questioning if Faunus are more than just animals.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Weapons need to be fixed, but the heist is soon at hand.

Roman could certainly admit to the swell of shock and pride as he watched his soulmate taking apart and fixing the weapons on the table in front of them.

"I've never met a thief with so many skills outside our destiny." He praised, goggles having replaced the mask on their face.

"This is more a hobby." Red stated, working on the one likely the most complicated, Hissing Bug. Rather than a conventional weapon it was more a sound maker with several programmed sounds, you throw the speaker that looked like a beetle then push the button for the noise you want. Once the button for the noise was no longer being held it would scuttle back to the spherical controller. If the controller was split in half it would release an extremely high pitched burst of sound at whatever the inside was pointing at, allowing the user to disorient their target. It was complex in workings, but otherwise a rather simple 'weapon' for a young child like Aurora.

"Your hobby is building _weaponry_?" He questioned as they reattached some wiring within the turned off sphere of the noisemaker.

"I used to steal my uncle and dad's weapons all the time, they thought it was because I was interested in them. After a while I started taking them apart out of curiosity." They carefully slid the cover over all the wires, moving on to the other half of the weapon. "...I much prefer weapons to people."

"What?" The orange haired man questioned, startled at the sudden confession.

"Weapons don't care what your gender, or name, or soulmate or destiny is. None of that matters to them, just being used...they won't feel betrayal or hatred because of what you are."

"...Unlike people, like family or friends." Now he understood.

"Yeah." The red haired teenager fell silent, all of their attention on fixing the speaker portion of the noisemaker. Given their happiness here opposed to at Beacon, along with the undertone of annoyance and coldness to their voice when they spoke of their family, he guessed the idea of how those people would react probably didn't really bother them anymore. As a child, though, it would have certainly been upsetting...the master thief knew first hand how it felt to be driven out once your family found out you were a destined thief.

"..." Neo appeared beside her best friend with her usual shatter of glass effect, holding out her hand to the younger. The noisemaker was put in her hand and the shatter sounded as she disappeared, the fake huntress now looking at the next weapon.

"Okay, what happened to you...?" Tortilla Chip was a push dagger painted pale yellow, blade mostly triangular and a little larger than their palm. The base was also metal, red like the owner's hair, and about as thick as a thumb. The base snapped open, allowing small bullets to be lined up inside, which they quickly did. Holding it properly, they pushed their palm against the base...the weapon _creaked_ like an old door hinge, but did nothing. "Ah." The goggled teen easily took the weapon apart, revealing the blade split into four sections and moved a bit away from one another to allow the bullets to be shot. A bit of tinkering, too precise and quick to see, and it was shooting like normal.

"You made all these?" The adult asked suddenly, drawing their attention again.

"Someone had to." Snowfall, as it turned out, was a 'rope' dart painted white, though the 'rope' made of thin interlocking metal cable instead of actual rope to make it stronger. "Besides Hissing Bug they're all meant to be easily replaced...not that we've needed to." The red haired teenager murmured, tugging at the cable. What was wrong turned out to be the cable almost snapping at one part and the blade needing to be sharpened, neither of which actually took that long.

"No one lost their weapons?"

"We're all pretty attached." The smaller thief explained with a shrug, replacing the goggles with their usual mask. "I couldn't stand losing Flaring Night." They patted their belts.

"Flaring Night?" The man with blue covered green eyes raised a curious eyebrow.

"Properly called Flare in the Night. Like the flames on my soulmate mark." His heart gave a distinctly loud thump, the weapon was basically named after him. "Neo!" The woman appeared holding Hissing Bug, grinning widely and even he knew what it meant. Everything was fixed now. That smirk with a malicious edge appeared on Red's face again. "Then it's time to get going."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sort of short but I wanted to have the heist in its own chapter, and the weapons still needed to be fixed so...next chapter is heist time! Which means it light take a bit to write, so sorry for that.
> 
> PS if Tortilla Chip confused you just think of/look up Megaman's Megabuster in Smash. I know at least one thing as some pieces of the base do exactly what I imagine the blade of Tortilla Chip doing.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roman tags along with the heist, and though he doesn't get to see a whole lot of it Red proves themself every bit the fighter and leader he'd expect.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took longer than I wanted, and in the end I cut out most of the actual 'heist' because I realized it wasn't actually important. I wanted to show off Red's planning and fighting skills some, but beyond that just the fact that they successful pulled off the heist is most important. I don't need to go into detail. And if I tried it would have taken a hell of a lot longer.

Roman looked down at the small, rectangular box he'd been given when he'd managed to convince Red to let him come along. They didn't want to risk being overheard at any point, perhaps a little paranoid but given that they rarely were able to be themself it wasn't necessarily surprising. The tiny box had eight small lights built in the front, though the top left of his seemed currently out. Each light would light up from a different box if the middle was pushed. The light at the top middle, bright red, flashed once and the box vibrated a bit in the thief's hand.

"Red's asking if we're all ready." Charcoal explained, pushing the middle of his own box briefly and making the one the other had vibrate differently as the grey light of the middle right lit up. Green, blue, brown, white and pink lit up one by one with a different vibration for each...a clever way to tell when someone pushed a button and who even if you couldn't look to tell. Finally the man pushed his own button briefly, no vibration and the remaining light in the top right remaining dark. A glance at the boy revealed an orange light, shock filling the master. His soulmate had clearly had the light directly for him, and probably had from the moment they saw his mark.

"What?" Three red and pink flashes as the box vibrated again, confusing him.

"Red and Neo are going in." A few moments later colours flashed three times again, three white and brown flashes seeming to respond. "Blizzard and Jasper are safe to head in, so that's what they're doing. If you see or hear someone hit your button twice. If you're in danger, hold it." The explanation was rather simple and easy to grasp. "Sorry Red couldn't explain, but you basically followed us and they just sort of let you join so..." The boy's voice is soft, door slightly pushed open since it's the back and allowing them to talk.

"Red keeps things pretty simple, huh?"

"They have to. If anyone new joins they have to be able to understand easily, especially if they're young like Aurora. And these boxes are used by all of the dens." There's pride in the kid's voice, and it's clear he looked up to his leader. "It's such a simple thing once you know, but if one of us drops it and even a police officer or huntsman picks it up they'd have no idea what it actually meant! It's really old school so it's almost impossible to track! And they even have it set up that they can short-circuit a box if we return without it, ruining anything inside! Red's amazing!" The disguised man isn't sure when this became gush about the fake huntress-to-be, but he also isn't complaining... it's sort of heartwarming to see and hear how loyal these kids are, how much they look up to them.

"They certainly seem it." The contact wearing man agreed, feeling his own pride leak in a little. This amazing person was _his soulmate_. Maybe fate wasn't as cruel as he always thought. He wasn't prepared for the sudden vibration of the box, looking down to see the red light flash twice.

"Red's found someone!" Roman remembered that the masked teenager was taking care of the back half of the building, meaning that leaving the door open could make trouble for them.

"Gotta go kid." He closed the door quickly, standing in front of it as his eyes darted from one hallway to another. A security guard was running down the left hallway, looking behind him in a clear panic. When he finally turned his head to look forward he'd made it halfway down the hall, freezing with frightened eyes when he saw the way out was blocked. The master thief barely had time to twitch his hand to grab a weapon before golden metal pieces with thick metal cable attaching them wrapped around the guard like a lasso, crimson tip clasping around to act like a knot.

"I told you." The voice that almost cut through the hall was menacing in a way that the wiged man can appreciate, but also be a little concerned about...until his soul mate steps out, holding what he had recognized as Flaring Night acting as a lasso, so much malice and disgust in the teenager's voice it didn't even sound like them. The way they walked, the feeling they gave off...it was almost frightening. "Everything here belongs to me now." They jump suddenly, flipping to push off the ceiling with their feet before landing before the poor man who had thought getting in their way was a good idea. "Now, down." The scared man's body suddenly released all tension, crumbling to the floor if not for Red grabbing the falling form.

"What the hell?!" The older thief questioned, startled and confused as they laid the 'enemy' on the floor.

"Sleeping gas I gave him when I first ran into him. Admittedly a little difficult to get, but one of Junior's contacts works with the stuff. He'll wake up in three or four minutes." They assured, unclipping the weapon and returning it to around their hips. Their box was pulled out, pressing the button twice before stuffing it back in the pocket near their thigh as their soulmate's box vibrated. "Can't wait to be out of the huntress thing." The redhead grumbled, the difference making sense now.

"Will that be long enough?" The mask really does make their grin look more malicious or sadistic somehow.

"Of course." Almost on cue his message box or whatever it was called vibrated three times, the patterns of the two boys getting the jewelry. "Looks like we're out of here."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Red is overly paranoid about being found out...given their family, being a fake huntress and that thief children are still treated like criminal adults it makes sense. The boxes are a way to communicate instead of scrolls, which they fear being overheard. This is more of a laid back heist, they were able to easily disable the cameras, but other times they have to be entirely silent. I didn't mention it here, but a big difference between Red and Neo is that they use sleeping gas while she just straight up knocks them out with her umbrella.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The heist went well, though the pieces they got were all garbage. So why does Red still seem so happy?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really hate writer's block, but managed the chapter I've had bouncing around in my head since the last one.

The children had spread the jewelry they'd stolen atop the table in the 'kitchen' area, for a store that held maybe 100 pieces at max given the small size the 20 now on the table were not even a quarter of the loot they could have gotten.

"Huh...not much in the way of good loot here Red." Roman looked over the jewelry, frowning to himself. It was all fake, though he knew for a fact that store carried the real deal.

"Of course not. Did you expect there to be?" The question drew his attention to his soulmate, who at least _seemed_ to look genuinely confused behind the mask.

"... Yes?" Red gave a soft chuckle.

"They just finished up a big sale today and are getting more supplies tomorrow, these are just display pieces." They stated, not even bothering to look at the jewelry.

"If you already knew they were fake why steal them?" The master thief questioned, now the one very confused.

"Knowing they were fake was the _reason_ we stole them Roman, Neo made sure of it." They chuckled again when he only looked at them with more confusion. "I don't think thieves have to be some 'bane of society' or anything. If we steal things like display pieces or the ones that don't even work then the places can still get compensated for the theft, but nothing of real worth is stolen so it's not actually negatively effecting the business at all. Insurance won't go up for junk, but gives a decent lien for the theft anyway."

"That's... brilliant." The thief leader grinned widely, mask doing nothing to hide their pride.

"A heist isn't about the money we get afterwards. It's about being true to ourselves, to our destiny. To rid that itch to take something that doesn't belong to you, as much a part of any thief as the need to breathe." Their voice was certain, conviction dripping from each sound. "I just don't believe we have to ruin lives to do it. We're a part of this world, so we should work with it instead of against it." It was odd that the wiged man reached out without thinking, ruffling the masked teenager's hair as though it were completely natural.

"Roman!" They swatted his hand away with ease, and that just makes it all the more natural. They fix their hair with a huff, but no anger or awkwardness comes. It's...familial, which is fine given their age. He had no romantic interest in a 15 year old, being 21 himself, but likely would once they were an adult. It wasn't guaranteed for soulmates to become romantic, platonic were rare but certainly existed...but for the first time he didn't mind the idea of spending his life with someone by his side, no matter the kind of love.

"Sudden impulse." The man with blue covered green eyes stated with a shrug, not much caring since they clearly didn't. Instead the little mastermind smiled again, softer this time.

"Only a day and already becoming familial?"

"Hard not to with a soulmate like you." He winked, making them laugh.

"I'm glad. I was worried we'd be stuck around my fake life." The man simply placed a hand atop their head, this time not ruffling it.

"It's not your fault. You do what you have to." That he understood made that smile wider, truer...he preferred it. They stayed like that for a few minutes before someone cleared their throat, reminding the duo of everyone else.

"Sorry about that." Red coughed, the edges under their mask looking a little red... probably his imagination. "Aurora, Salsa, Neo? Any pieces you guys like?" The three stepped forward, looking at the fakes upon the table. The youngest grabbed a fake silver necklace in the shape of a beetle, no real surprise there. The sauce named girl grabbed a simple pair of yellow stud earrings. The oldest, however, continued to look over the table with a critical eye.

"!" Neo rather suddenly grinned, disappearing with her shatter of glass. Maybe half a minute later the sound went off again, the woman grabbing something from the table and fiddling with it...no one could see what she was doing, her back to the group. After a few moments she spun around and held up something triumphantly, practically bouncing to Red. She'd grabbed a simple red 'gemstone', pink and white metal holding it in place, the weak chain replaced by a thick black metal cord.

"Neo...I can't take this with me." All the pride and joy faded at the leader's words. "I'd have to explain where I got it, I... it's not worth it Neo, I'm sorry." The heterochromic woman stared at the floor as the necklace fell, hands clenched at her side. After what felt like an eternity of no one knowing what to do she looked up, glaring at Roman as though she wished him dead, before the shatter sounded and she was gone.

"...What was what about?" The disguised man asked, getting a sad sigh and shrug as the silver eyed teen bent down to grab the necklace. He watched, startled as another shatter happened around their hair to reveal the black with red tips he recognized.

"I don't know..." Red admitted as they looked at the necklace. "...Charcoal, see if you can't sell this stuff for a bit of lien. You guys deserve some treats."

"Got it Red." The boy nodded simply.

"I...have to head back. I'll try to get back as soon as I can." None of the children looked happy, but nor did they complain...the leader having to leave to a fake life must have been rather common by now. "I'll go get changed. You can wait for me if you want Roman, otherwise someone else can let you out. Someone get him an entry scroll for here." With that they darted off with a flood of rose petals behind, leading to the stairs that went to the bedrooms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Neo is... apparently not okay. Seems things couldn't stay all well before Red had to leave. Regardless, they have quite the world view, huh? Well, hopefully the next chapter will be out far sooner.
> 
> The more open someone is to the idea of their soulmate the quicker the two bond. Roman finds himself far more open than he expected to be.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time passed slowly, and Roman really hasn't had a chance to properly talk to Red in months. So he's rather happy when they send him a message saying they're at the Thief's Den.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hate how long this took. But hopefully it was worth it for you guys. I knew where I wanted the chapter to go, but had a great deal of trouble actually getting it there.

Days turned to weeks then months without seeing Red, about three and a half if Roman had counted right (normally an easy enough task but significantly harder since beginning to work with Cinder and constantly be either making plans for heists or pulling them off). He had given them his scroll number in the hopes the two could talk sometimes, but they kept it on their dingy old 'entry scroll' for the Den rather than the Beacon-issued modern one to keep her sister or teammates from seeing the new number...it left the soulmates to message each other only late at night, when the rest of the team was certainly asleep, or when the fake huntress hid away from the students and teachers somewhere to keep from cracking under the pressure of their fake life.

Which would be why it startled the master thief when he got a sudden message from them with only "Meet up. Same Place." as the text. By the time he actually reached the Den the secret thief was already there and relaxing at the kitchen table in their preferred outfit while talking to the kids...it seemed Neo was either not around or still upset, since the hair was still black with red tips instead of the bright red of 'Red'.

"What're you doing here Red?" Roman questioned, causing them to look up with an odd smile. His heartrate had calmed upon seeing them again, the soulmate bond making him anxious without them nearby. At least the masked teenager had admitted to feeling the same.

"Team RWBY happened to walk by your latest heist site. Blake and Weiss started arguing about if it was the White Fang or not...from there it quickly became arguing about what I _think_ equated to Faunus Rights. Then they just sort of kept getting in arguments until Blake snapped at her in our room, revealed herself a Faunus and ran away." The leader leaned back a little more. "I told Yang I was going to look for Blake. So I'm pretty much free until she comes back." A sudden malicious edge appeared in their grin. "Maybe she won't come back at all, and I have an easy excuse to leave Beacon."

"...You don't actually think that will happen, do you?" The man asked, causing them to sigh and shake their head.

"Another Faunus started the second fight, a blond monkey Faunus...he winked at Blake when he passed her by, and seems to be a huntsman-in-training. If he manages to find her then it's possible he'll convince her to return."

"Do you _want_ her to return?" It was Salsa who asked.

"...I don't have a problem with Blake as a person, I don't want her hurt or anything. And if we met some other way we might have actually become friends. But, she's a huntress-in-training, even worse one of the three people forcing me to stay at Beacon...so no. I don't want her to return. I don't want to keep faking like this."

"I have another heist in a few days." The orange haired man mentioned suddenly, instantly drawing the attention of everyone. "You could join if you want Red." He doesn't need to see their eyes to know they must have lit up with happiness, the wide grin making it obvious enough.

"Really?!" The silver eyed teenager hopped to their feet, looking up at him regardless due to the size difference.

"As long as you can figure out a disguise." The green eyed man assured, ruffling their hair. Apparently they were too happy about the heist to get mad at him about it. "Where is Neo anyway?" She was, after all, the usual one to make Red appear as they wanted.

"Oh, Neo's off getting new info for Junior." The red haired teenager stated with a shrug. "She's a day or two away, meeting with someone from Vacuo. Didn't really have time to warn her I'd be showing up." They paused a moment, before he got the feeling they were glaring behind their mask. "Do you think I can't disguise myself? I _have_ ways that don't need Neo, and I'd use them more often if she didn't like using her semblance on me."

"Alright, alright." Roman relented, raising his hands in surrender. "Sorry to doubt you, Master of Disguise Red." His voice is sarcastic, but they grin like he's not...he just let them take his 'compliment'.

"So then." The leader smirked, pulling out a board game. "Who's ready to play some Remnant?"

~

Roman had always considered himself a master at planning, his job as a master thief required it after all. And though he won the round of Remnant: the Game, Red had proven to be a formidable foe with their own strategies that he wasn't expecting...it had been a very close win on his part. They were also adept at reading people, something he'd written off at the beginning because they were playing with Charcoal and Aurora (helped by Salsa), but realized half way through that they were doing so with him as well. It was really just a game between the two, and everyone seemed to be well aware of that given the others watching cheered only for their leader...by the last third of the game he made sure to keep a straight face and body posture, something they had been doing the whole time.

After the round the masked teenager sent the children to their rooms for bed, going with Aurora and telling her a bedtime story since they so rarely were able to be here overnight. He stood outside the doorway of the little girl's room, pretending he was sneaking when the soulmates both knew full well he was there, and listened to the tale the teenager spun. The adult couldn't help a slight chuckle to himself when he realized the red lover was telling of their first meeting.

Once done the red haired teenager snuck silently from the room, ever so slowly closing the door. They nudged the green eyed man's arm with their shoulder, giving a gentle smile, and brought him back to the room downstairs they used as a maintenance room for the weapons. They went about fixing up the weapons that were broken while the two simply...talked. Though the younger expected him to come up with a plan to get them out of Beacon they also weren't rushing him, not even bringing it up. Instead it was just small talk, getting to know one another better. Favourite colours, foods, clothes. Things they want, things they hate. Anything they hadn't messaged one another. Dreams for the future were skipped around, the orange haired man had none beyond living and any his soulmate had would be put on a harsh hold until they could live as themself. Regardless, it was...nice. To get the opportunity to just calmly talk to them face to face.

It was late when Roman went to the kitchen area to get drinks for them, only to return after a minute or two and Red was asleep in their chair. He considered leaving them asleep there, but it wouldn't be good for their back so in the end he gently poked their shoulder. Their hand snapped up and grabbed his wrist, startling him.

"Don't touch me Yang." The silver eyed teenager's voice was low, the same tone as when they had when they'd caught the guard at the last heist.

"It's not your sister Red." The green eyed man assured, watching the sudden tension when he'd poked them dissipate.

"Sorry about that." They let go of his wrist, stretching with a yawn. "I have to stop her from seeing my neck after I sleep."

"Makes sense to me." The master thief assured, putting the drink he'd grabbed in front of them...a glass of milk. "Here, you should probably drink then go to bed."

"Thanks." The masked teenager smiled, reaching forward to grab the glass before basically chugging the stuff before standing. "You planning to stay the night?" The question was sudden as they left the room, startling him again.

"Not really anywhere for me to sleep." He pointed out before he could think of anything else. They reached the living room area, to his confusion.

"You take my bed, I'll sleep here. Used to it from being a huntress and all." His soulmate stated, hopping to lay down on the couch.

"That's not-" It only took a moment for the adult to realize they'd fallen asleep again, rather effectively cutting off any further disagreement from him. He moved forward, gently pulling the mask from their face...given that they stayed asleep he could only guess it was something Neo or one of the children did as well. Carefully setting it atop the table Roman rolled his eyes, heading upstairs... he'd been invited to stay, no reason to say no.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just how had Red met Junior? That's the question Roman finds himself asking them over a game of cards.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I find myself wondering if anyone actually CARES about this story...oh well, I'm having fun with it and that's what counts. New chapter up and ready to go before I expected, so yay there!

Without Neo there was no heist planned for the Thief's Den, but none of the children seemed to mind. Just having their leader around was more than enough for them.

Roman began to learn more about the other kids too, as they all became more at ease around him. Like how Salsa had a little sister she mostly took care of before her neglectful parents found her thief mark and kicked her out, or how Jasper came from a family of thieves before his parents were killed by huntsman. Blizzard had joined shortly after getting amnesia, which he still hadn't recovered from, and Aurora had been raised here with the others since she was found by Red as a year old with a mark. Charcoal had been adopted only for his 'parents' to try and kill him when his mark appeared. 

They all had stories...but none of them had _lives_ when Red had found them, not anymore anyway. It was really no wonder they were all so loyal to the fake huntress. Unlike some, the masked thief never abused the power they held over the children. They truly just wanted homes for thieves with the dens, and nothing more. The only person he couldn't find out about was Neo. None of the children knew about her life before the Thief's Den, only that she was the first member besides the creator. Any attempt to ask said creator ended in deflecting or outright refusal to devulge anything.

"How did you meet Junior?" Roman finally asked after the kids went to sleep the second day he was there.

"Haven't I told you that already?" Red questioned, looking up from the card game they were playing.

"Only that you met him when you were seven."

"Huh...well, if you're really that interested I guess I'll start from the beginning." He nodded, watching them take a deep breath. "My mom had the destiny mark of a thief. Instead of following that destiny she actively fought against it, covering it and enrolling to become a huntress. That's where she met the rest of my family, they were all a team. When my mark appeared she started covering it too, told me I couldn't tell anyone about it...not even Dad and the others. She went on a mission and disappeared when I was six, never telling anyone but me the truth." They're voice is soft as they talk about the woman, almost sounding pained.

"Must have been hard on a little kid." The silver eyed teen nodded.

"I ran away from home when I was seven." The adult's breath caught, startled by the blunt confession.

"..." He couldn't make words leave his throat, despite trying. This was a 7 year old _willingly_ on their own!

"I snuck to Vale. I didn't have anywhere to stay, only the food in my little backpack to survive. To this day Junior still thinks I had a death wish." They paused, staring down at the cards still in their hand. "...Maybe I did, at the time." He wished they had met sooner, so much sooner. _He_ could have taken care of them and they'd never have felt that way.

"R...Red..." The suave man's voice choked a little. The thought of his soulmate's death, especially at such a young age, was crippling in itself.

"When I ran out of food I did the only thing a thief can. I went to steal. I didn't have much practice at it, but I was smart enough to not get caught the first few times." Suddenly the young thief looked at him and grinned. "And then I went to steal from a teenager walking down an alley. From Junior." Laughter left him mouth before he could think.

"You stole from _Junior_?" They chuckled back.

"I _tried_ to steal from Junior." They corrected, their chuckling still going. "He caught me before I even pulled my hand from his pocket. Let me tell you, the son of a mob boss? Definitely not the type of guy who would be happy with some snot nose kid trying to steal from him."

"I never would have guessed." The orange haired man joked sarcastically. "So how did you end up going from that to this?" He gestured around the room.

"He told me who he was, like it was really insulting that I had no idea...actually, it probably was for him. Guy had to explain what a mob was to me, which only made him more pissed." They stared to laugh almost hysterically, taking a moment to regain their composer. "So, without a moment of hesitation I just said 'so you're a nobody then?'"

"You _didn't_!" It was his turn to laugh hysterically, image of a seven year old Red staring down the mob boss son like it was no big deal appearing in his mind.

"I _did_!" It took several minutes for the laughter to fade, the whole situation was just too funny. Even once it had stopped occasional chuckles still escaped. "Most of what happened after that isn't really important. What is important is what I finally said to him. 'I can make you someone' from the kid who tried to steal from him."

"You were just insane as a kid, weren't you?"

"Spend a day with Yang. You'll see where I get it." They waved their hand as they spoke to show it wasn't really important. "Anyway, Junior looked me dead in the eye and asked what I meant." Red grinned again. "Info. If you have all the info bad guys and huntsmen will both want you safe. I can make a group to get that info, of thief kids." 

"Insane and a genius." Roman smiled, getting another chuckle.

"I wouldn't call myself a genius, just spent a lot of time around huntsmen. Anyway, he brought me back to a club his dad owned before calling the man and telling him my idea. I guess I was really lucky, because his dad agreed. It would be directly under Junior's control and management. From there I explained the thieves' dens and how they'd work. It took about...six months of me living in his club to find the first place to use, that's this one. Then I went back home, to gather info from my family."

"That's...damn Red, that's unbelievable. As a kid of seven you were able to do all that?" They nodded with a smirk.

"Since then I've come back here whenever I can. A place away from the lie makes it a lot easier to go back, you know?" They sounded so happy. He much prefers hearing them like that.

"Yes, I get it. But it's late and I have work to do for that heist tomorrow." He stood as their smile became a frown.

"You have to leave already?" The masked teenager almost sounded like they were pouting.

"I stayed last night, didn't I? With any luck that teammate of yours will stay missing. I'll see you tomorrow Red." The green eyed man dusted off his clothes despite them being fine, wanting to spend just a moment longer with his soulmate.

"Fine. Take care Roman, okay?" They stood up, taking off the mask to show concern on their face.

"I promise." He ruffled their hair, getting a playful swat at his hand, and left the den. It felt more like home than his ever had. Maybe he'd have to see about getting the den some better furniture...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Red definitely was a pretty smart kid. If only they hadn't returned home, maybe they could have lived the life they wanted.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roman's heist has come, hopefully Red will show in time to help with the two foolish Faunus suddenly attacking him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for how short this chapter is, I have plans for the next chapter but it didn't feel right adding it onto this one. And while I could have wrote out the whole fight between Sun/Red and Roman/Blake I didn't want to fail to do it the justice it would deserve. Hope you all enjoy.

Despite Roman's best efforts he didn't have time to contact or talk to his soulmate again before the heist. He was grateful for their timing though, given the monkey that had been about to land on his head. Instead a pole arm weapon with just two spikes at the top blocked his head as a smallish person in a white peacoat that went past the knees moved in front of him, causing the Faunus to land with one foot against the place between the spikes instead of the original target.

"There's another one of him?!" The blonde yelled, clearly startled as the thief's new accomplice took the opening and ran to jab at their enemy. If not for knowing Neo was still out of town the oldest would assume the new helper was her, with the somewhat dark orange hair in a low ponytail that faded to a brighter orange.

"Flambeau, the monkey if you would." Calling them Red would have only caused problems, the worst of which was the cat figuring out his helper was her team leader. That worse case scenario was the same reason he had them not fight said girl.

"..." He heard 'Flambeau' block a strike with their weapon, a military weapon with a black pole trimmed in crimson and white 'fork' to match the colours of Melodic Cudgel...he couldn't help but wonder how long they had that weapon built, along with the gentleman thief costume with his colours.

~

Of all the things Roman had been expecting today, a girl who shot _lasers from floating swords_ and could _pull a Bullhead from the sky with them_ was not one of them!

"I don't even know what she was doing there." Red groaned in a deeper voice than normal, though the Faunus in the airship may be able to recognize their voice if the animals hear it again anyway.

"You know her?" He questioned, standing while they sat on the floor of the carrier. Their cuffs were rolled up, a crimson suit vest with a white undershirt underneath. Tight black gloves and dress pants, fancy looking boots that only went maybe a third up their lower leg. The most 'Red' thing was the black masquerade mask trimmed in crimson and white fabric covering the eye holes. A grey scarf was wrapped around their neck, maybe unnecessary but covered the destiny and soul mate marks.

"I know _of_ her. She's a friend of that girl you fought...or at least her team. Her name was...uh...Penny, I think." They actually sounded like they had to think on that...knowing their luck, Ruby was probably the girl's best friend while the secret thief didn't actually like her at all.

"Good information Flambeau." The orange haired man nodded, looking out the window. It so happened they'd be passing by the Den soon. "Open the back door."

"What?" The pilot sounded startled, maybe scared. The 'mini him' stood up, dusting off their clothes.

"I said, open the back door. Flambeau is getting out here." Despite a moment of hesitation the door began to go up. "Get me more info."

"Understood Torchwick." With that his soulmate ran and jumped out the back, easily landing on the top of buildings they weren't too far above for the sake of their exit. A few minutes later the human got a message on his scroll, saying they had washed the dye out of their hair and changed. Heading back to the dock. He'd expected as much since the team leader was supposed to be looking for the black haired Faunus girl, and after causing a scene with smoke and such 'Ruby' would logically go there.

~

  
 **"Hey."** The message came suddenly in the middle of the night, though it wasn't like it had woken Roman up... he'd been awake at his place since finishing dropping off the dust.

 **"She decided to stay, didn't she?"** The man messaged back, sitting on his expensive couch and waiting for an answer.

 **"Yeah. But I guess that's obvious since I didn't go back to the Den or message you earlier."** His lips twitched up, just a bit.

 **"Kind of."** He couldn't imagine how difficult it must be for Red. To have been free and happy again only to be pulled back into the lie.

 **"Apparently Weiss is no longer racist...or something. She doesn't have a problem with Blake, and is...trying...to be nice to the monkey. His name is Sun, by the way. Doubt you care, but still."** And now the soulmates were back to how it had been before the weekend, nagging anxiety and loneliness and all.

 **"You're right, I don't care."** With closed green eyes he could imagine the snort of laughter his blunt response would get, hand moving to cover their mouth for if a few chuckles escaped the mind. **"Anyone question why you weren't at the dock fight?"**

 **"Nobody asked. Yang was too busy clinging to me once I got there...it helped that I looked exhausted."** The response had taken a minute, either the fake huntress thought one of their teammates were waking up or they were tired themself. 

**"How long have you had that weapon and outfit anyway?"**

**"You mean Arioso Truncheon and the outfit I was wearing today?"** Arioso Truncheon...melodious weapon...Melodic Cudgel. It was even named after his weapon.

**"Yes, that's right."**

**"I started making plans for Arioso Truncheon after we first met. I spent the preparation time today to build it, so it definitely needs some more work. My hair was just washout dye, took more than once to get it out but that's fine. As for the outfit, I asked Neo to get it for me a few weeks back. She didn't seem to happy about it, but thankful was able to get exactly what I needed."** The amusement made his lips twitch into a small smirk again. All the work they'd done and getting Neo to do, all for a disguise he may have never even seen. **"** **...Neo's going to throw a fit when she finds out she missed me the last few days."**

**"I'd try to help but I don't think I'd really be able too."**

**"No rob able not. Thanks for ordering."** Okay, definitely starting to fall asleep. Seemed typing longer words was difficult when they were tired.

 **"Alright, you should go to bed. Night Red."** They didn't answer back, all he could do was hope they hid their entry scroll before they fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Why did Penny go to the docks without Ruby to bring her? I genuinely have absolutely no idea, but loved Penny just shooting a laser through an airship too much to care. Part of me really wants to make Penny somewhat focused on like the equivalent chapter in Little Red Riding Wolf, but it just doesn't fit for this story. Red has no real interest in making friends with huntsmen and huntresses. It's just a part of the act.
> 
> On a happier note, I really do love just Red and Roman interactions. They're fun ^^ And for anyone wondering, my favourite line of this chapter is: "Apparently Weiss is no longer racist...or something."


End file.
